Director
Channing Godfrey Peoples

Starring
Nicole Beharie, Kendrick Sampson, Alexis Chikaeze

Miss Juneteenth tells the story of Turquoise Jones, a black single mother from Texas, once the winner of the Miss Juneteenth pageant, and now trying to push her daughter (Kai) towards the same goal. The pageant is named for the holiday celebrating the final emancipation of black slaves in Texas, and is designed for young black women to win a college scholarship. After Turquoise won in her teen years, her dreams were quickly derailed when she fell pregnant with Kai. Determined not to let Kai make the same mistakes that she did, Turquoise focuses all of her energy and savings to trying to see Kai win the pageant and the ensuing scholarship. Kai on the other hand has other ideas. She couldn’t be less interested in the pageantry and would rather be trying out for her schools dance program. Not helping matters is the continual uselessness of Kai’s father, and the on again, off again partner to Turquoise, which leaves the single mother swimming against the current more often than not. 

Miss Juneteenth is an important film, particularly in today’s current racial climate. It’s a film written and directed from a black, female perspective and focusing on issues affecting black women. The realism of the film is inspiring, even if the story can feel somewhat stifled at times. There aren’t any great, charismatic characters here, and outside of Turquoise herself, there aren’t a lot of characters you’re really engaged with, or finding yourself really liking either. But the narrative is one that should resonate with those from within these communities, as well as highlight struggles that many of us don’t see from the surface. One of the moist poignant lines in the film comes after a local black business owner is granted a loan which many perceive to have more risk than reward connected to it, when discussing the ideal of the ‘American Dream’ we’re told “ain’t no American dream for black folk”. There is a long history behind that understanding, a history that many of us can’t directly relate to, but need to comprehend nonetheless. 

This isn’t a film that’s going to make you feel all warm and fuzzy, nor is it going to be celebrated as a masterpiece. But it will be remembered for its quiet contemplation, and serve as a marker for where we sit as a society in the oft forgotten suburbs of America, where the day to day opportunities seem few and far between, and the injustice that goes with that is palpable. But despite all of that, there is the essence of hope that is driven by some remarkably ordinary women, who want more for the next generation than what was available to themselves. 

3 Stars

Trailer
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi3871915545?playlistId=tt11394158&ref_=tt_ov_vi